Adjustment mechanism for rotary type snow bank plows



1 9 E. c. BAlN 7 2,685,751

. ADJUSTMENT MECHANISM FOR ROTARY TYPE SNOW BANK FLOWS 'Filed Fb. 17, 1950' z'shee'ts-sheep 1 Inventor I EDWIN c BAIN I by I m I E. c. BAIN 2,685,751

MECHANISM FOR ROTARY'TYPE snow BANK PLOWS Aug. 10, 1954 ADJUSTMENT 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Feb. 17, 1950 Inventor EDWIN C. B by Patented Aug. 10, 1954 UNITED STATES ATENT QFFICE ADJUSTMENT MECHANISM FOR ROTARY TYPE SNOW BANK PLOWS 2 Claims.

This invention relates to improvements in a snow removal apparatus and appertains particularly to a snow bank topper.

The principal object of the invention is to provide a device for throwing back the top of a high bank of snow, such as accumulates along a highway as successive snow falls are thrown up on the banks along the sides thereof.

Snow blowers or throwers that toss the snow far beyond the edge of the road and thus assist in preventing the formation of banks are necessarily slow moving, usually cleaning no more than two or three miles of roadway per hour; whereas the usual V-type of snow plow and wing can clear a track at speeds of approximately twentyfive miles an hour. This snow bank topper is designed to follow such a fast travelling plow that has quickly open a road to normal traffic and toss away the top of the bank making room for later snow falls to be thrown up and eliminating the deep canyon-like contour of the high banked roadway that acts as a trap to drifting snow that often fills in to the top of the banks. The bank topping mechanism may be mounted on the same truck unit carryingthe usual plow and can be employed simultaneously with the plow or the road may be plowed first at a rapid speed to keep trafiic moving and then the bank topper can be used alone, as the unit subsequently travels a second time over the same route.

The rotor or fan-type snow disperser is cer tainly desirable for rapidly throwing back large volumes of snow from the top of the bank, but to provide a motor-driven fan or rotor possessing a sufi'icient range of adjustability has hereto-fore been found impracticable.

It is within the objects of this invention to provide a power driven rotor-type snow dispersing apparatus for the purpose set forth that is carried on the outer end of a boom mounted on a truck or trailer and that is permitted a substantial range of vertical and horizontal adjustment with respect to its. supporting unit.

It is a further object of the invention to provide a power actuated rotor-type snow bank topper, for mounting on an automobile truck, trailer or the like, wherein the snow-dispersing rotor or fan and its driving motor are in fixed relative positions.

A further object of the invention is to provide a rotor-type snow bank topper with a rotordriving unit in substantially balanced relation on opposite ends of an adjustable boom that is mounted to both teeter and swivel on its supporting conveyance.

A still further object of the present invention is to provide a novel adjustment between the boom and the turntable so as to provide vertical adjustment of the boom and the rotary plow attached thereto.

To the accomplishment of these and related objects as shall become apparent as the description proceeds, the invention resides in the construction, combination and arrangement of parts as shall be hereinafter more fully described, illustrated in the accompanying drawings and pointed out in the claims hereunto appended.

The invention will be best understood and can be more clearly described when reference is had to the drawings forming a part of this disclosure wherein like characters indicate like parts throughout the several views.

In the drawings:

Figure 1 is a rear elevation of the invention with the rotor plow in lowered position;

Figure 2 is a similar rear elevation showing the plow in elevated position as when working on the top of a high snow bank; and

Figure 3 is a plan view of the plow shown also in dotted outline when swung into partially trailing position.

This snow bank topper is suitable for mounting on its own motor vehicle, on the truck part of a conventional snow plow unit or on a separate trailer unit or other conveyance. In the present illustrations it is shown embodied on the truck part of a vehicle such as is commonly employed for snow plowing and consequently could be operated simultaneously with or subsequent to the regular snow plow. The snow bank topper is a self contained unit and completely independent of the plow or any other mechanism.

In the present disclosure of one possible embodiment of this invention; it will be seen that on the chassis frame i of a motor vehicle truck 2 I mount a horizontal turntable 3 for rotation as on a central vertical pivot d. On this turntable 3 an elongated arm-like frame 5, which I call a boom, is so supported intermediate its ends that it may teeter vertically on a horizontal pivot shaft 6.

The boom 5 is not pivoted mid-way of its ends but much nearer one end than the other. A motor 1 is supported on the shorter end of the boom,

and a snow dispersing device 8 on the forward side of the longer or outer end. This snow disperser comprises a substantially vertical blade 9 set angularly to the boom, and reinforced at its inner foremost end by a brace H] from the boom. The blade inclines toward or feeds into an an nular but open-ended pocket 1 I at the outer end in which a bladed rotor or fan I2 is rotatably mounted on a horizontal shaft l3 journalled on the boom and at substantially right angles thereto. (Fan and rotor are used interchangeably in this description and are regarded as synonyrnous.) A drive shaft i4 runs from the motor I to the end of the boom 5 where suitable gearing !5 connects it with the fan or rotor shaft 3. The pivot shaft 5 on which the boom 5 teeters is placed off centre as described so that the heavy motor 1' may balance the lighter dispersing unit 8 on the outer end of the longer portion of the boom arm and thus facilitate the vertical adjusting of the power-driven snow disperser. A simple means for teetering the weight balanced boom arm is shown, comprising a pair of toggle arms 16 and l! reaching respectively to the boom 5 and the turntable 3 from the piston rod 13 of a pneumatic cylinder #9 carried by the said turntable.

This balanced and easily teetered boom arm 5, with its motor and power-driven fan in constant or fixed spaced relation, eliminating any costly gearing or excessive wear on the drive connections, may be swung horizontally with its supporting turntable as required in use or into in operative trailing position by any suitable turntable rotating mechanism. I have found it suitable, however, in the present embodiment to em ploy a cable 29 attached to the inner end of the blade 9 or the brace ill and extending forwards to the front part of the motor vehicle truck 2 where it passes around a pulley 2i and returns to wind on adrum 22 located to the rear of the cab.

In use, the six bladed fan or rotor about forty inches in diameter has operated successfully ofi? a motor of one hundred and fifty horse power at a preferred fan or rotor spindle speed of approximately three hundred and seventy five R. P. M.s.

From the foregoing description taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, it will be manifest that a snow remova1 apparatus is provided that will fulfill all the necessary require ments of such a device, but as many changes could be made in the above description and many apparently widely different embodiments of the invention may be constructed. within the scope of the appended claims, without departing from the spirit or scope thereof, it is intended that all matters contained in the said accompanying specification and drawings shall be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limitative or restrictive sense.

What I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. For use with. a road vehicle, an apparatus for dispersing the snow from the top of a bank of snow alongside the road over which the vehicle is travelling comprising a turntable adapted to be mounted on the vehicle for rotation in a horizontal plane, an elongated boom pivotally mounted on the turntable for movement in a vertica1 plane with respect to the vehicle and for swinging movement with the turntable in a horizontal plane, a hydraulic cylinder and piston mounted on the turntable, toggle arms pivotally connected to said piston, said toggle arms at their outer ends being pivotally connected to said boom and turntable respectively, whereby extension and contraction of the hydraulic piston will raise and lower said boom in said vertical plane, the pivotal mounting for the boom being adjacent the inner end of the boom and the major portion of the boom extending laterally outwardly from the vehicle substantially transversely of the line of travel of the vehicle so that the outer free end portion of the boom is remote from the vehicle and overhangs the snow bank, a forwardly facing rotatable fan on the forward side of the remote end portion of the boom, a substantially vertical blade on the forward side of the remote end portion of the boom and extending inwardly and forwardly from said fan to engage the snow bank and feed the snow to the fan, a motor for driving said rotatable fan on the inner end portion of the boom in counter balancing relation to said fan and blade, and means for varying the outward transverse reach of said fan and blade for compensating for the variations in the distance between the vehicle and the snow bank as the vehicle travels over the road comprising said turntable and a flexible element attached to the boom and adapted to be attached to the vehicle so that it can be payed out and taken up.

2. A snow dispensing apparatus as claimed in claim 1 wherein a housing is mounted on said boom and surrounds said fan and has an open front and has its side remote from the vehicle open, and said fan, housing and blade are disposed entirely forwardly of the forward side of the boom.

References Gited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 892,056 Jackson June 30, 1908 1,955,585 Holmes Apr. 17, 1934 2,118,851 McCallum May 31, 1938 2,199,723 Garland et a1. 1- May 7, 1940 2,234,176 Jensen Mar. 11, 1941 2,315,007 Morse et a1 Mar. 30, 1943 2,348,796 Ferwerda et a1 May 16, 1944 2,584,361 Morine Feb. 5, 1952 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 711,787 France Sept. 17, 1931 

